The present invention relates generally to a live trap for capturing air breathing marine animals in open water without physically harming the animal. More particularly, the preset invention relates to a trap that forms an island upon which a marine animal may climb, and in which it becomes caged in a manner that allows the captured animal to breathe air.
There are wide varieties of air breathing animals such as seals, sea lions, penguins, walruses and the like, which spend a substantial percentage of their life in a pelagic environment, yet occasionally return to land for such purposes as breeding, raising young, rest, or protection. It is relatively easy to capture and study such animals while they are on land since they can easily breathe when captured. However, to more fully understand the animals' life cycle, including their nutritional needs, general health, and migratory habits, it is important to be able to capture the animals in open water for study. In the past, collecting such animals in open water has often resulted in the death of the captured animals since animals captured in netting and conventional traps frequently drown before being retrieved. Therefore, many scientific researchers have concluded that a more humane way to collect marine animals in open water is to sacrifice the animals. While animals captured using such approaches can be examined for stomach contents and general health, such approaches are far from humane and are self-defeating as to preservation of the species. Therefore, there is a need for a trap capable of capturing air breathing marine animals in open water without sacrificing the captured animal. Such a trap may be used for a wide variety of other purposes as well. For example, "nuisance" animals may be captured and relocated, tagged animals may be recaptured to facilitate scientific research, and injured animals may be captured for treatment.